Tag Archive for mushrooms

Back to School – Snack Time!

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It is hard to believe that school has arrived once again!

I have one that started today and two that start in a couple of weeks.  It is funny how that same old routine starts immediately.  The one thing that stumps people the most in this rut of a routine is SNACK time!  What do you serve for snacks when you don’t eat carbs?  This one was tough at first, but it is much of the same foods that I pack in a low-carb lunchbox, so you can use this article as a means for both.

First off, toss the juice boxes – PLEASE!  Those are loaded with sugar!

What about just water?  If your child refuses plain water, try infusing it with fruit or cucumbers, or see if they like a sparkling water like La Croix.  Mine think it is a treat!  There are a ton of flavors from which to choose, so your family will never get bored.

Next, go through your pantry (or call us to do it) and toss the chips, cookies, crackers, pretzels, and goldfish – yep, I said it – even the goldfish.  They are all carbs and carbs = sugar!

Your body doesn’t even know the difference between the two!

 

So, what do you feed the kiddos when you don’t have goldfish?

 

There are a ton of options, many of which we have posted before, but we will remind you!

This is the number one favorite in the Lutz household:

Veggies with Ranch Dip

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Obviously, mine love the mini-peppers!

Other great dips to serve with vegetables are spinach dip, artichoke dip and pimento cheese.  The later is a great lunch option as well!

 

Cheese crackers with salsa or guacamole is another favorite in our house.

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Don’t forget about the yummy olives we posted last week too!

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Sometimes if I want to dress things up a bit, I will do a nice cheese sampler tray.  This is great for the little tastebuds too and fancy enough for company!

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Another fun snack is the savory fat bombs.  I was able to find some great snacks at Costco that were cheese and meat wrapped up together similar to a fat bomb.  They are cute and would work great in a lunchbox as well.

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A few other great options:

Cheese sticks or Baby Bells

Lunch meat (or the two together!)  Choose your meat carefully.  Stay away from the pre-sliced – get the quality meat (Such as Boar’s Head) in the deli and have it sliced thinly for wrapping.  Watch for Nitrates and other additives.

Pickles

Refreshing Cukes

Celery and Queso

Whole milk yogurt (for the kids)

Jerky or beef sticks

A variety of nuts (w/out peanuts)

Stuffed mushrooms

Celery and nut butter

Deviled or Boiled Eggs

Sausage on a Stick

 

These are just a few of many options!  Hopefully this will get you started in this back-to -school rush time!  Don’t be afraid to try new things and push your kiddos to expand their palates a little.  We hope everyone has a great beginning to the school year.  Remember to be strong and eat right!  You (and your children) need to eat healthy to be healthy!  Happy Back-to-School week!

 

HEALTH. Word cloud concept illustration. Wordcloud collage.

 

Feel free to drop us a note in the comments section if you have a question about lunch or snacks.  Chances are, someone else is wondering the same thing!  Also, feel free to share some of your favorites!

 

Dinner Party Appetizer

This is one of Erin’s recipes that I love.  She does many of her recipes by feel and look, but I did my best to measure most of these simple ingredients.  I literally did these yesterday, and thought, why not make my post on this now?

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We had a dinner party last night, for which I was assigned an appetizer.  Sometimes, when dining with many, it is hard to please everyone with a Keto dish, which is why I usually sign up for an appetizer or a salad.   You can do a lot of Keto appetizers such as guacamole, hot artichoke dip, spinach dip, stuffed mushrooms, different kinds of poppers, etc.  There are many!

Yesterday ended up being busier than expected, and I had all of these ingredients on hand, so I went for the mushrooms.  They are always devoured in minutes, and really only take a few minutes to make as long as you soften your cream cheese first.  After you make them once, you won’t even need the recipe!

 

Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer

Your portions will change based on the amount of mushrooms you want to stuff.  I did one large package of mushrooms from Costco.

Ingredients:

Large package of mushrooms, washed and stems removed

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

2 packages of ITALIAN sausage (I did one mild and one hot) removed from casings (There were 5 links per package, and I had a ton left over.  I used about 2 cups of the crumbled sausage and saved the rest for breakfast in our eggs.)  Use as much as you like though.

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Kerrygold for baking

That is it folks!

Directions:

Remove casings from your sausage and brown on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until crumbled.

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Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl (hopefully in advance to soften)

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Add sausage and combine with cream cheese.

Add Cheddar and mix until evenly distributed.

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Take your mushrooms, from which you have removed the stem, washed and dried.

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Using a teaspoon, fill the caps of the mushrooms until there is a heaping amount.  Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

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Put a few slices of Kerrygold around the perimeter of the mushrooms as well as the middle. You want it to melt for a nice non-stick surface that gives a wonderful flavor.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Plate and serve!

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Make sure you serve these with a napkin.  They are so delicious, you may find yourself drooling!

 

A Meal to Make a Family Happy!

So, I was ruled out on my dinner choice this evening!  My husband wanted steak, and the kiddos wanted potatoes.  “Hmmm,” I thought to myself.  Let’s see if I can slide those cauli-mashers by them without notice.

Worked like a charm!  My super picky four-year old said this was the “best dinner in the world!”  She also told me that “these are the best potatoes ever!”

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If you missed Erin’s post on Cauli-mashers, they are a breeze to make, even when you get outnumbered at the last minute in the kitchen.

I steamed one bag of Costco fresh Cauliflower florets until fairly soft.  I don’t have the emersion mixer like Erin, so I just used my KitchenAid hand mixer, and beat them until they were the consistency of mashed potatoes.  I added a half block of Kerrygold, a half block of cream cheese, and a handful of chopped parsley.  I then added a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Mixed it all together with the mixer, poured into an 8×8 pyrex, and topped with some Colby Jack cheese.  I popped it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, and to the delight of everyone, it was devoured.

Served with grass-fed New York Strips topped with sautéed mushrooms (in Kerrygold no less), and a side of asparagus topped with Kerrygold!

Every plate was clean, and every face had a smile!

So my sweet 8 year boy (the middle child) wanted me to share his dessert with you tonight!  He was very proud of his extra helping of steak and his two dark chocolate-coconut fat bombs (posted last week) that he used to make a smiley face!  He said, “This will show your viewers how happy I am right now!”  So, how could I refuse?  Here is Colton’s sugar-free dessert!

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I hope you all have a happy dinner tonight!